harp on

Idioms  

1. Dwell on; talk or write about to a tedious and excessive extent. For example, She kept harping on the fact that she had no household help at all. This expression is a shortening of harp on the same string, meaning “to play the same note over and over.” It was first recorded in 1518.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

harp on

“Bless his heart, he is full of beans,” he continues, describing Jagger this way twice in 30 minutes, “and playing some really great blues harp on this record.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

“I’m not going to turn the page and forget about it. And I’m also not going to harp on this the rest of my life,” Fonti said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025

The framers probably thought there was no need to harp on about the Union being perpetual.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2023

“We won 38-3 so I’m not going to sit here and harp on that,” said Prescott, whose 20-yard TD toss to CeeDee Lamb was his first to a receiver this season.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 2, 2023

I hoped the subject would be left at that, but Beatrice had to harp on it.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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Related Words

• dwell on
• nag

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